Contaminated French soil yet to recover from the wounds of war

In the early 1920s, 25,000 tonnes of munitions were destroyed in Trélon and Liessies, northern France, and the soil in the Bois l’Abbé forest still bears the scars. © Daniel Hubé (BRGM)

More than a century after the First World War, vast stretches of French soil remain contaminated, with some areas still too hazardous to access. Experts warn it could take 700 years to clear hidden munitions – the legacy of a conflict that wrought unprecedented destruction on the land.

In the forest of Spincourt near Verdun, a clearing stands as a stark reminder of the lasting environmental impact of war.